“We are looking to offer an innovative solution that meets the needs of the Colombian market in selecting investment opportunities,” said Juan Pablo Camacho, vice president of asset management of Grupo Bancolombia. “To this end, specialized models are used in conjunction with the experience, capability, and reliability that the organization offers in the management in investment portfolios.”

Diego Mora, CEO of BlackRock in Colombia, explained how the two firms joined together to launch the new fund. “We analyzed which investment strategy would best complement the product offerings that customers already had at their disposal and that were aligned with the strengths that both companies could bring to the table,” said Mora. “That was how we got to this strategy that will provide an alternative for diversification and growth of unique capital in the Colombian market.”

The new fund comes during a time of transition for Colombia’s largest bank. In April, long-time CEO Carlos Raúl Yepes Jimenez stepped down from Bancolombia after more than five years at the helm, citing family reasons. During his tenure, the bank expanded further internationally, including a major acquisition in Guatemala, and doubled its assets from $35 billion USD to $70 billion, according to Raúl.

Now, Juan Carlos Mora Uribe, the company’s former vice president of innovation and digital transformation, has taken over a financial institution that each year, according to Raúl, handles 1.8 billion transactions — or 42% of all the financial transactions in the country. The bank has more than 30,000 customers and 1,000 branches in Colombia alone.

“Carlos Raúl put the soul into Grupo Bancolombia,” said David Bojanini, chairman of the board for the bank, after the announcement. “His work has been successful as evidenced by the results of the company. After five years as its president, there are undeniable advances for Bancolombia in terms of growth, efficiency, innovation, and sustainability.”

(Photo: Bancolombia headquarters in Medellín, Colombia. Credit: Juan Camilo Trujillo)

David Bojanini, CEO of Grupo Sura

With an expanded footprint throughout the region, the Medellín-based Sura (Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana) is now free to start growing the business further. “Suramericana is now establishing itself in the bulk of the countries where it acquired the former RSA operations, which is allowing us to move forward with consolidating our portfolio,” said Grupo Sura CEO David Bojanini. “We continue to maintain a positive outlook for the rest of 2016.”

RSA had been in the market to spin off its LatAm sector for some time, per the Financial Times, with the September 2015 sale allowing the insurer to focus on its operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, and Canada.

In addition to nearly finalizing its RSA acquisition, Grupo Sura — a multinational holding company, primarily operating in investment banking, asset management, and insurance services — is coming off a big first quarter.

Its assets reached $19.1 billion USD while net income hit $168.8 million USD, a 53.6% increase from the first quarter of 2015, according to Sura filings. The company’s retained insurance premiums also increased by 26% in the quarter while commissions jumped 16.2%.

RSA’s Latin American operations represent a geographically diverse property and casualty operation within the region, with a presence spanning Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina. These operations posted total assets of COP 6,181,628 million (USD $1.9 billion) at year-end 2014; this in addition to net reserves worth COP 1,964,868 million (USD $631 million), and total gross written premiums amounting to COP 3,362,834 million (USD $1.1 billion).

With this acquisition, Suramericana will consolidate its position in the Latin American insurance market, and become a top player in Chile and Uruguay, and number nine in Argentina. As for Mexico and Brazil, the two largest markets in Latin America, the company enters new market niches offering substantial growth potential, while in Colombia it will strengthen its existing offering and consolidating its leading position.

Gonzalo Alberto Pérez is CEO of Suramericana S.A.

“This transaction represents a unique opportunity to expand our presence across the fast-growing Latin American markets. We are certain that this new acquisition shall create value for all our clients, as well as for us in Suramericana, our parent company Grupo SURA and the organization as a whole, through the diversification of  our geographical risk, sharing of best practices and harnessing of synergies, while at the same time allowing us to develop new markets” stated Gonzalo Alberto Pérez, CEO of Suramericana S.A.

By acquiring RSA’s Latin American operations, Suramericana extends its current presence in Colombia, Panamá, Dominican Republic and El Salvador, and consolidates its position as one of the larger insurance companies in the region with over 15.6 million clients.

Dr. David Bojanini is CEO of Suramericana parent Grupo SURA.

Grupo SURA, Suramericana’s parent company, sees this acquisition as part of the organization´s strategy to develop a wider range of financial services within the region. “This transaction is being carried out maintaining the highest corporate governance standards, fulfilling our expectations in terms of corporate reputation, senior management capabilities, and business practices”, stated David Bojanini, CEO of Grupo SURA.

Grupo SURA is also a significant participant in the Latin American pension fund industry through its other subsidiary SURA Asset Management, which has a presence spanning Mexico, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Colombia and El Salvador, and a customer base of over 17 million.

On behalf of Munich Re, one of Suramericana´s shareholders, Pina Albo, Board Member, expressed: “We welcome the acquisition and look forward to the prospects it will bring.”

This transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals in each respective country, but is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. Lazard acted as sole financial adviser to Suramericana, whereas Goldman Sachs served as sole financial adviser to RSA.